# 3151j FDC - 1997 32c Classic American Dolls: "Scootles"

US #3151j
1997 “Scootles” – Classic American Dolls

• Pictures the “Scootles” doll designed by Rose O’Neill and created by Joseph Kallus.
• Part of the Classic American Dolls set – the first time photographs were used instead of paintings or drawings for a large US set with different stamp designs

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Classic American Dolls
Value:  32¢, First Class Mail Rate
First Day of Issue:  July 28, 1997
First Day City:  Anaheim, California
Quantity Issued:  105,000,000
Printed by:  Printed for Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. by Sterling Sommer of Tonawanda, New York
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Panes of 15 (Vertical, 5 across, 3 down)
Perforations:  10.9 by 11.1
Tagging:  Large tagging block over all 20 stamps, covering the stamps to the edges

Why the stamp was issued:  To commemorate the “Scootles” doll designed by Rose O’Neill.  The drawing of the doll appeared for the first time in The Ladies’ Home Journal in April 1925.  The rights to the design were bought by George Borgfeldt & Company and it was created by Joseph Kallus.

About the stamp design:  The stamp pictures a photograph of the doll against a blue paper background.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held during the annual membership meeting of the United Federation of Doll Clubs at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers Hotel in Anaheim, California.

About the Classic American Dolls set:  The USPS issued the stamps to commemorate American dolls that “reflect the tradition, heritage, culture, and artistic style from various geographical regions of this country.” 

Each stamp design pictures a photograph by Sally Andersen-Bruce.  Each doll or pair of dolls is shown in front of a blue paper background, tying the stamp designs together.  The names of each doll are printed in small type below the bottom frameline of each stamp, across from the 1997 year date.  They’re also listed in the horizontal selvage at the bottom of the pane of 15.

The set marked the first time photographs were used instead of paintings or drawings for a large US set with different stamp designs.

History the stamp represents:  In l909, American illustrator Rose O’Neill published a drawing of a character with large round eyes, a pug nose, and a curved line mouth.  Modeled after her baby brother, she named the impish character “Kewpie” – short for cupid.  By 1913, George Borgfeldt & Company had begun producing Kewpie dolls.  Adorable and appealing, the dolls were immensely popular, and millions of Kewpies were made of a variety of materials.

Another Rose O’Neill creation, Scootles first appeared as a drawing in the Ladies Home Journal in April 1925.  Like its cousin Kewpie, Scootles had an upturned nose, a closed smiling mouth, and round eyes, which glanced mischievously sideways.  Rather than the trademark blond tuft of hair though, Scootles sported blond curls.  Hoping to recapture the popularity of the Kewpie, George Borgfeldt & Company secured rights to produce a Scootles doll, which was designed by Joseph Kallus (who also did the model for the Kewpie doll).  Although strikingly similar, Scootles never reached the same degree of popularity as Kewpies.